HILLARY CLINTON: Restoring Faith In Democracy
This past week, President Barack Obama delivered a remarkable commencement address to the students at Howard University. He had a simple message for the graduates – that every shred of progress we hope to make in America depends on voting.
He’s right. And we need to make sure that every single eligible citizen can perform their fundamental duty.
Recently, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe took an important step toward justice by restoring the voting rights of 200,000 formerly incarcerated people, who had paid their debts to society.
Unfortunately, this is a rare example of progress at a time when many are finding it harder than ever to exercise their right to have a say in our country’s future.
Ever since the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, many states that used to face special scrutiny because of their history of racial discrimination have passed new voting restrictions. In the last three years, 17 states have made voting more difficult by requiring proof of citizenship, ending same-day registration and restricting early and mail-in ballots.
One of the worst offenders is North Carolina, where Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill that does all this and more. It even includes a harsh new voter photo ID requirement. That only serves to create another unnecessary obstacle for low-income voters and communities of color to have their voices heard.
Make no mistake: These kinds of restrictions don’t come about by accident. They’re a blast from the Jim Crow past, and it’s just one of many other examples of a sustained effort to disenfranchise communities of color across the country.
I believe that we should be making it easier to vote — not harder. And there are several steps we should take immediately to restore trust in our democracy.
http://washingtoninformer.com/news/2016/may/11/hillary-clinton-restoring-faith-democracy/?page=1
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